ASPEN — Skiers and snowboarders often don’t see eye to eye, but one skier who shared a chairlift with a snowboarder took things to a new level Sunday at Aspen Highlands.

The skier, a white man in his late 20s or early 30s, took offense to a seemingly innocuous comment by the snowboarder sitting next to him and threw the man off the Loge Peak chairlift, said Seth Beckton of Aspen, the snowboarder who was pushed.

Beckton said he fell face-first 20 to 25 feet to the ground, but fortunately landed in a “large pocket of snow” and was not injured.

“I honestly thought I was dead,” Beckton said. “Because I didn’t know where we were (within the lift path). It’s not cool to think anyone would do that.”

The incident occurred at about 9:30 a.m., though Beckton, 28, did not report it until the end of the day. He said he was initially shaken by the incident and in a bit of shock, but since he wasn’t injured, he decided not to let it ruin his powder day.

Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen Skiing Co., said Monday that if the incident had been reported earlier, ski patrol and other officials would have had a better chance of finding the skier.

Still, the company plans a full investigation and will try to find witnesses and track down the skier, he said.

Deputy Alex Burchetta, director of operations for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, said Monday his agency is looking into the incident. Deputies are working with officials at Aspen Highlands, who are reviewing video taken at the mountain Sunday, he said.

As of Monday, Beckton had not filed a report with the Sheriff’s Office, Burchetta said. However, considering the gravity of the offense, Burchetta encouraged him to do so.

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